Events in Sport
- 1877 5th Preakness: C Holloway aboard Cloverbrook wins in 2:45.5
- 1879 7th Preakness: L Hughes aboard Harold wins in 2:40.5
- 1900 34th Belmont: Nash Turner aboard Ildrim wins in 2:21¼
- 1905 39th Belmont: Eugene Hildebrand aboard Tanya wins in 2:08
- 1918 Cleveland Indians Stan Coveleski sets club record for most innings pitched (19) as the Indians beat the Yankees 3-2
- 1929 Detroit Tigers beats Chicago White Sox, 6-5, in 21 innings
Donald Bradman
Baseball Record
- 1935 1st major league night baseball game, in Cincinnati (Reds 2, Phil 1)
- 1940 1st night game at NY's Polo Grounds (Giants 8, Braves 1)
- 1940 1st night game at St Louis Sportsman Park (Indians 3, Browns 2)
- 1940 NY Giants rip Boston Bees 8-1 in 1st night game at Polo Grounds
- 1964 Panic in Lima Peru soccer stadium, kills 300
- 1967 AFL grants a franchise to Cincinnati Bengals
- 1968 American boxer Bob Foster defeats holder Dick Tiger for the world light-heavyweight Championship at Madison Square Gardens, New York (goes on to defend title 14x)
- 1972 Glasgow Rangers of Scotland win 12th European Cup Winner's Cup against Dynamo Moscow 3-2 of the Soviet Union 3-2 in Barcelona
Boxing Title Fight
1976 Muhammad Ali TKOs Richard Dunn in 5 for heavyweight boxing title in Munich
Muhammad Ali
- 1979 Billy Martin issues a public apology to Reno sportswriter Ray Hagar
- 1980 Stanley Cup: NY Islanders beat Philadelphia Flyers, 4 games to 2
- 1981 Bobby Unser wins, loses, & wins a controversial Indy 500
- 1981 Kathy Hite wins LPGA Corning Golf Classic
- 1984 Det Tigers win AL record 17th straight road game
- 1986 Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens beat Calgary Flames, 4 games to 1
Golf Major
1987 LPGA Championship, Jack Nicklaus Sports Center: Jane Geddes wins by 1 stroke from Betsy King
Jane Geddes
Betsy King
Event of Interest
1989 NHL's NY Rangers fire GM & coach Phil Esposito
Phil Esposito
Event of Interest
1992 Indianapolis 500: Al Unser Jr.wins
Al Unser Jr.
- 1992 Colleen Walker wins LPGA Corning Golf Classic
- 1992 Despite trailing 7-1, NY Yanks tie Milwaukee Brewers & then score 1 in 9th to avoid 5th straight extra inning game
- 1993 NHL Prince of Wales Conference Final: Montreal Canadians beat New York Islanders, 4 games to 1
- 1994 NHL Western Conference Final: Vancouver Canucks beat Toronto Maple Leafs, 4 games to 1
- 1995 3rd UEFA Champions League Final: Ajax beats Milan 1-0 at Vienna
- 1998 Indianapolis 500: Eddie Cheever Jr wins in 3:26:40.524 (233.604 km/h)
- 2000 8th UEFA Champions League Final: Real Madrid beats Valencia 3-0 at Saint-Denis
- 2003 Auckland Blues beat defending champion Canterbury Crusaders, 21-17 at Eden Park, Auckland for their 3rd Super 12 Rugby title
- 2009 Indianapolis 500: Hélio Castroneves wins in 3:19:34.6427 (241.913 km/h)
- 2009 Manchester United wins 1-0 at Hull City Stadium to win English Premier League title for 3rd consecutive season, for a second time; equals Liverpool's record of 18 league titles
- 2010 NHL Eastern Conference Final: Philadelphia Flyers beat Montreal Canadians, 4 games to 1
- 2011 NHL Western Conference Finals: Vancouver Canucks beat San Jose Sharks, 4 games to 1
- 2014 22nd UEFA Champions League Final: Real Madrid beats Atletico Madrid 4-1 at Lisbon
- 2015 Indianapolis 500: Juan Pablo Montoya wins in 3:05:56.5286 (259.653 km/h)
- 2015 Mumbai Indians defeat Chennai Super Kings to win the 2015 20/20 cricket Indian Premier League
- 2017 UEFA Europa League won by Manchester United 2-0 against Ajax in Stockholm
Event of Interest
2018 US President Trump posthumously pardons boxer Jack Johnson for racially orientated criminal conviction - transporting a white woman across state lines
Donald Trump
Birthdays in Sport
- 1895 Hunter "Stork" Hendry, Australian cricketer (Australian all-rounder post-WWI), born in Sydney, Australia (d. 1988)
- 1899 Suzanne Lenglen, French tennis champion (6 time Wimbledon champion), born in Paris, France (d. 1938)
- 1900 Lionel Conacher, Canadian athlete and politician (d. 1954)
- 1901 José Nasazzi, Uruguayan footballer (d. 1968)
- 1913 Audrey Brown, England, 4 X 100m runner (Olympic silver 1936)
- 1913 Willi Daume, olympic organizer
- 1926 Len Maddocks, cricket wicket-keeper (Australian mid-50's)
- 1927 John Kelly Jr, American sculler (Olympic bronze 1956) and brother of Grace Kelly, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1985)
- 1933 Hemchandra Tukaram Dani, cricketer (Test Ind v Pak, 1-19, ct 1, DNB)
- 1938 Glen Hall, cricket leg-spinner (South African in one Test v England 1964)
- 1942 Ali Bacher, South African cricketer (South African batsman and captain in 60's)
- 1946 Irina Szewińska, Polish athlete, administrator (Olympic various sprint gold 1964, 68, 76), born in Leningrad, Russia (d. 2018)
- 1950 Jo Ann Washam, LPGA golfer
- 1955 Thad Ackel, horse trainer
- 1959 George Glanos, horse trainer
- 1960 Pete Metzelaars, NFL tight end (Carolina Panthers, GB Packers, Lions)
- 1962 Bev Lidyoff, Huntington Park Ca, WPVA volleyballer (US Open-7th-1994)
- 1962 Dorothy Trapp, equestrian 3-day (Olympics 1996)
- 1963 Horace Holden Jr, slalom double canoe (Olympic 11th 1996), born in Atlanta, Georgia
- 1963 Joe Dumars, NBA guard (Detroit Pistons)
- 1963 Ken Ftach, tennis star, born in St Louis, Missouri
- 1963 Ivan Capelli, Italian racing driver
- 1963 Rich Rodriguez, American football coach
- 1963 Kenneth "Ken" Flach, American professional tennis player (4 Grand Slam titles, 2 mixed doubles), born in St. Louis, Missouri (d. 2018)
- 1964 Adrian Moorhouse, British 100m breaststroker (Olympic gold 1988)
- 1964 Elizabeth McColgan, British running star (world record 5 km indoor)
- 1964 Pat Verbeek, NHL forward (Team Canada, NY Rangers), born in Sarnia, Ontario
- 1965 Chris Jorgis, US badminton player (Olympic-92), born in Palo Alto, California
- 1966 Tony Jones, NFL tackle (Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos-Super Bowl 32)
- 1966 Eric Cantona, French footballer
- 1966 Ricky Craven, American NASCAR driver
- 1967 Margaret Crowley, Australian 800m/1500m runner (Olympics 1996)
- 1968 Jerry Dipoto, pitcher (NY Mets), born in Jersey City, New Jersey
- 1969 Martin McCague, cricketer (in Ulster AIS product, Eng quickie 1993-94)
- 1970 Jeff Zgonina, NFL defensive tackle (Carolina Panthers, Packers, Rams)
- 1970 Nick Castaneda, pairs skater (& Dawn Piepenbrink), born in Birmingham, Alabama
- 1971 Paul Ragusa, Canadian 48 kg freestyle wrestler (Olympics 1996), born in Bülach, Switzerland
- 1971 Troy Barnett, NFL defensive end (NE Patriots)
- 1972 Danny Bautista, outfielder (Atlanta Braves), born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
- 1972 Petra Schwarz-Ritter, Vienna Aus, tennis star (1988 Futures-Bari-ITA)
- 1972 Tito Paul, NFL defensive back (Arizona Cardinals, Cincinnati Bengals)
- 1973 Ville Peltonen, hockey forward (Team Finland Olympic bronze 1998), born in Vantaa, Finland
- 1973 Karim Alami, Morocco, tennis star
- 1974 Ace Custis, NBA forward (Dallas Mavericks)
- 1974 Marcus Coleman, free safety (NY Jets)
- 1974 Maria Alejandra Vento, Venezuelan tennis star (1995 Futures-Braz), born in Caracas
- 1974 Natalie Neaton, soccer forward (Olympics 1996), born in Royal Oak, Michigan
- 1974 Masahide Kobayashi, Japanese baseball player
- 1975 Katie King, ice hockey forward (USA, Olympics 1998)
- 1975 Yannis Goumas, Greek footballer
- 1975 Marc Gagnon, Canadian short track speed skater
- 1976 Catherine Cox, Australian netballer
- 1978 Jade Winter, Australian swimmer (Olympics 1996)
- 1978 Brad Penny, American baseball player
- 1978 Johan Holmqvist, Swedish hockey player
- 1979 Tracy McGrady, NBA forward (Toronto Raptors)
- 1981 Shelby Lyons, pairs skater (& Wells-1995 Midwest champ), born in Oswego, New York
- 1982 Issah Ahmed, Ghana football player
- 1984 Brodney Pool, American football player
- 1985 Tim Bridgman, British racing driver
- 1987 Guillaume Latendresse, French-Canadian hockey player
- 1990 Joey Logano, American racecar driver
Weddings in Sport
Wedding of Interest
1995 Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar (22) weds pediatrician Anjali Mehta (28)
Sachin Tendulkar
Deaths in Sport
- 1908 Old Tom Morris, Scottish golfer (b. 1821)
Jim Barnes
1966 Jim Barnes, English golfing pioneer (4 major wins), dies at 80
Jim Barnes
- 1988 Tom Burtt, cricketer (NZ slow left-armer in 11 Tests 1947-53), dies
- 2007 Bill Johnston, Australian cricketer (b. 1922)
- 2010 Morrie Martin, Major League Baseball pitcher (b. 1922)
- 2013 Ron Davies, Welsh footballer, dies at 70
- 2013 Antonio Puchades, Spanish footballer (23 caps), dies from Alzheimer's disease at 87
May in History
My Fair Lady's Special Day
This was a day to remember for Eliza Doolittle, the 'My Fair Lady' of the stage and film musical that won and broke hearts.
May 20, 1956
Memories of Elvis
Only one actor has appeared on film with both the Beatles and Elvis Presley: the little-known Norman Rossington.
May 21, 1999
President Falls From Grace
Paul Deschanel had the makings of a fine President of France – until a series of bizarre incidents culminated in him falling out the window of a moving train.
May 23, 1920
Ship that Changed the Face of Britain
Britain was on its knees after the Second World War, its economy and infrastructure in tatters. For help the Mother Country turned to the Commonwealth.
May 27, 1948